SA reads discussion

This will be our first group read. Please feel free to nominate any South African books. I will set up a poll next week based on nominations.

Some suggestions to get us started:

Goodreads Best SA reads
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13...

and
Goodreads SA authors
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/19...

and

Goodreads best SA reads
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13...

So I'm torn between Alan Paton's Cry, the beloved country (which I've read) and JM Coetzee's Disgrace (which I haven't read) any thoughts?

I wouldn't mind for a little Bushveld adventure - Jock perhaps? (Percy FitzPatrick)

Is a Bushveld adventure the same as a safari?

No, not quite. We don't say Safari.(Or at least I've never heard it from us)
The Bushveld is all the wild bush particularly around Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.Dry, grassy regions. Still lots of wildlife.
Cecily is referring to Jock of the Bushveld, a true story of a dog from Barberton, set in what was the Eastern Transvaal, (now Mpumalanga) in the 1800's.jock followed his owner, who was a bit of a jack of all trades all around what is now Limpopo and Mpumalanga. He's a bit of a hero, had all sorts of adventure.

Something by Daleen Matthee, antjie Krog, Herman Charles Bosman, Andre P Brink or Bryce Courtnay

I think Daleen Matthee wiuld be a good place to start. Easy reads. Translated from Afrikaans.

Of course JR Tolkien is South African!!

My nomination: the day the swallows spoke. By Dalene Matthee. My favourite DM book. Or starting the "forest trilogy"

Maritha van der Vyver is also excellent

I've never thought we could claim Tolkien, as much as I wish we could:-( he left at 2 months old...

I claim him. Vrystaat!!!! All that imagination has to come from somewhere!!

LOL! (Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein)

Probably the best book depicting early SA history is The Islands by Dan Stein. But a VERY HEAVY read. Still excellent.

sounds fantastic! I love dog stories! I've also always wanted to read .

When nominating books can it be considered that SA authors may not be readily available outside SA.
Thanks

Irene, I hadn't thought of that. It's a problem I ran into with Russian novels. I've just checked, all of the nominated titles are available on Amazon as paperbacks or kindle books.

I could also suggest an e- reader app (compatible with all tablets) from www.kalahari.net, which is our amazon equivalent. You can also buy e books via this site and it covers most SA titles

Then if I put up the poll this Saturday and we vote over a week; it gives a week and a half to source the book. Will that be okay? Are there any other suggestions or thoughts? Also, most of these are fairly well known and may be found internationally.

Cool. Thanks. I forgot about Kalahari.net

Would you like to suggest anything Irene, from your time here before.

A book which I loved is My African Home By Eliza Feilden. Tells her life in Durban +- 1852. I am happy to read books based on history of Boer War or early settlers in SA. I am not going to be jumping with joy over political books. I am a sucker for books like 'White Lightening' (Alan Donald) or 'For the Record' (Gary Teichman) . Probably given away my secret passions Rugby and Cricket. Have heard good reports of Mafekeng Road By Herman C Bosman. Have done some but not all of Wilbur Smith. absolutely loved 'Pathways of the Sun' by Dean Liprini but this would not be to everyone's taste. Now dying to hear what other think or suggest.
It is one thing to be in a group but thank you so much for making me FEEL part of the group.

We are excited to share this experience with you. You enthusiasm is contagious. And I love you Liewe Hexie

Lisa wrote: "Irene, I hadn't thought of that. It's a problem I ran into with Russian novels. I've just checked, all of the nominated titles are available on Amazon as paperbacks or kindle books."

Good to know! I thought of that yesterday and am glad that the books will be readily available! Thanks, Irene, for bringing this up, and thanks to Lisa for checking on it! :-)

Meant I love your Liewe Hexie picture!

Seriously check kalahari too because of cost

I didn't understand the pricing on Kalahari, but I will check it if I need to. I was able to get the Kindle edition of Jock of the Bushveld for free on Amazon.

It's about R10 to the dollar and R15 to the pound. Amazon converts for me, not sure if Kalahari does
So now I know what you will be voting for Sarah

Ok. I'll have Google convert for me if need be. :-) And I must say that will probably be my vote! ;-)

I'd like to read any of the authors Adele mentioned, particularly Andre Brink's Dry White Season or the1st volume from the Forest Trilogy. Coetzee would also be good (the Nobel Prize ought to count for something).

Alan Paton is another writer I want to read. My mother had his books on our shelf back in the '50s. I just now looked up phalarope. That word has stuck in the back of my mind for nearly 60 years; I never guessed it was a bird.

Lisa wrote: "Meant I love your Liewe Hexie picture!"

Despite the fact that I could not always understand the dialogue I loved Liewe Hexie so it was an easy choice for an avatar.

Nominations for October are now closed, please vote on a book for October, the poll will be open from 13 September to 21 September when we will announce the group read and a non- fiction buddy read